Pyrus communis

Pyrus communis
Common pear branch with fruit
Conservation status
Least Concern (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Eudicots
Clade:	Rosids
Order:	Rosales
Family:	Rosaceae
Genus:	Pyrus
Species:	P. communis
Binomial name
Pyrus communis L.
Synonyms[2]
List Crataegus excelsa Salisb. Malus communis (L.) Poir. Pyrenia pyrus Clairv. Pyrus achras Gaertn. Pyrus ambrosiaca Poit. & Turpin Pyrus amphigenea Domin ex Dostalek Pyrus anglica Druce Pyrus anglica Poit. & Turpin Pyrus balansae Decne. Pyrus caucasica Fed. Pyrus caucasica var. schuntukensis Tuz Pyrus communis subsp. australeuropaea Tuz Pyrus communis subsp. medioasiatica Tuz Pyrus communis subsp. orientaleuropaea Tuz Pyrus communis subsp. transcaucasica Tuz Pyrus communis var. pompejana L. Pyrus communis var. pyraster L. Pyrus communis var. sativa DC. Pyrus communis var. sylvestris DC. Pyrus communis var. volema L. Pyrus domestica (Borkh.) Medik. Pyrus karpatiana Terpó Pyrus magyarica Terpó Pyrus moschata Poit. & Turpin Pyrus papulata Poit. & Turpin Pyrus pyraster (L.) Burgsd. Pyrus pyraster subsp. achras (Gaertn.) Stohr Pyrus pyraster var. achras (Gaertn.) Cinovskis Pyrus pyraster var. relicta Dostálek Pyrus pyraster var. rossica (A.D.Danilov) Tuz Pyrus pyraster var. tomentosa (W.D.J.Koch) Dostálek Pyrus rossica A.D.Danilov Pyrus salviati Poit. & Turpin Sorbus pyrus Crantz

Pyrus communis, the common pear, is a species of pear native to central and eastern Europe, and western Asia.^[3]

It is one of the most important fruits of temperate regions, being the species from which most orchard pear cultivars grown in Europe, North America, and Australia have been developed. Two other species of pear, the Nashi pear (Pyrus pyrifolia) and the hybrid Chinese white or ya pear (Pyrus × bretschneideri, Chinese: 白梨; pinyin: báilí) are more widely grown in East Asia.

The following subspecies are currently accepted:^[2]

• Pyrus communis subsp. caucasica (Fed.) Browicz – Turkey, Caucasus
• Pyrus communis subsp. communis – Entire range except Caucasus

The cultivated Common pear (P. communis subsp. communis) is thought to be descended from two subspecies of wild pears, categorized as P. communis subsp. pyraster (syn. P. pyraster) and P. communis subsp. caucasica (syn. P. caucasica), which are interfertile with domesticated pears. Archeological evidence shows these pears "were collected from the wild long before their introduction into cultivation", according to Zohary and Hopf.^[4] Although they point to finds of pears in sites in Neolithic and Bronze Age European sites, "reliable information on pear cultivation first appears in the works of the Greek and the Roman writers."^[5] Theophrastus, Cato the Elder, and Pliny the Elder all present information about the cultivation and grafting of pears.^{[citation needed]}

Common pear trees are not quite as hardy as apples, but nearly so. However, they do require some winter chilling to produce fruit. A number of Lepidoptera caterpillars feed on pear tree leaves.^{[citation needed]}

For best and most consistent quality, common pears are picked when the fruit matures, but before they are ripe. Fruit allowed to ripen on the tree often drops before it can be picked, and in any event will be hard to pick without bruising. Pears store (and ship) well in their mature but unripe state if kept cold, and can be ripened later, a process called bletting. Some varieties, such as Beurre d'Anjou, ripen only with exposure to cold.^{[citation needed]} Fermented pear juice is called perry. In Britain, the place name "Perry" can indicate the historical presence of pear trees.^{[citation needed]}

Relatively few cultivars of European or Asian pears are widely grown worldwide. Only about 20–25 European and 10–20 Asian cultivars represent virtually all the pears of commerce.^{[citation needed]} Almost all European cultivars were chance seedlings or selections originating in western Europe, mostly France. The Asian cultivars all originated in Japan and China. 'Bartlett' (Williams) is the most common pear cultivar in the world, representing about 75% of US pear production.^{[citation needed]}

• 
  Pear tree in flower
• 
  Tiny unripe pears

• 
  Blake's Pride pear (Image courtesy of USDA, ARS)
• 
  Packham's Triumph pear, or just Packham's pear
• 
  Beurré Clairgeau, or Clairgeau pear, an early 19th-century French variety
• 
  Louise Bonne of Jersey pear, a late 18th-century French pear
• 
  Williams' Bon Chrétien (commonly Williams or Bartlett) pear, 1822 print
• 
  Summer Beauty pear - watercolor 1893
• 
  Sudduth pear - watercolor 1895
• 
  Williams pear red and green
• 
  'Butirra Precoce Morettini' variety
• 
  'Doyenné du Comice' variety
• 
  Watercolor of Forelle (Common pear) painted in 1900 by Deborah Griscom Passmore (USDA)
• 
  Pyrus Communis in the UBC Botanical Garden
• 
  'Vicar of Winkfield' variety
• 
  A 104 year old pear tree fell in a backyard.
• 
  Pears bloom in May in a backyard.

Pears are eaten fresh or cooked as a dessert, and may be served in pies. They are sometimes used to accompany meat. Pears are fermented to make perry; this can be distilled to make a pear brandy.

• 
  Pork chop with roasted pears
• 
  A pear pie
• 
  A French perry from Normandy
• 
  Williams pear brandy

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Pyrus communis.

• Pyrus communis images at bioimages.vanderbilt.edu Archived 2013-01-21 at the Wayback Machine